{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"India Tech Report","title":"Google, Accel team up to back Indian AI startups, SBI Ventures’ next climate tech fund","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":223,"description":"An AI generated image for illustrating an Indian startups co-working space.(00:20) Google, Accel to co-invest in Indian AI startupsGoogle and Accel will co-invest in at least 10 early-stage Indian AI startups through a new partnership between Google’s AI Futures Fund and Accel’s Atoms programme, with up to 2 million dollars available per company.The tie-up, based in Bengaluru, is Google’s first such funding collaboration and follows its $15 billion India data-centre commitment and broader push to tap the country’s nearly one billion internet users.Listen to the episodeSpotifyYouTube(00:54) India’s largest bank to launch next climate startup fundSBI Ventures, promoted by State Bank of India and headquartered in Mumbai, intends to raise Rs. 2,000 crore for its third climate-focused investment fund launching in January-March 2026. The fund will invest in early and growth-stage climate startups, particularly frontier climate technologies and AI-enabled innovations.SBI Ventures identified critical funding deficits in water security, climate-smart agriculture, and disaster-proof infrastructure, targeting an estimated $170 billion annual requirement.(01:34) Bio-based coastal concrete material nurtures marine lifeResearchers at the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research in Yerseke tested Xiriton, a bio-based concrete alternative made from grass, shells, sand, lime, pozzolan, and seawater, for tidal restoration.After a year, blocks deployed on mudflats were densely colonised by oysters, mussels, and algae while withstanding strong currents, suggesting a durable, degradable, low-alkaline material for greener coastal protection.(02:10) German defence drone startup nears €200m raise Munich-based Quantum Systems is close to securing about €200 million in new funding at a roughly $3 billion valuation, just months after becoming a unicorn. The dual-use surveillance drone maker, founded in 2015, is riding Europe’s defence spending boom as governments seek homegrown aerial...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/klwtZi6_OVxR1RQx-EUqBBLq9JNmkk2p0xt3ov7-eeg/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9kYjRi/MTNkNDVhMTVlOThm/MDM4ZmVlYjFmZGNl/OGFiNy5wbmc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}